Thanks for the link, but I would need 4 of those little ones to substitute for my 2 big ones = £100....and even with the big ones I sometimes have to refill every other day.

To wash them, rubber gloves, hot water with fairy liquid and disinfectant, old washing up brush, buckets, rinsing water and all done outside. Once really clean, they dry off on top of the boiler in the conservatory/utility area. I would never wash them in the kitchen. I don't consider myself that fastidious but I feel that that kind of stuff should not be brought into the house.

Katie, you can now get 'patio' apple trees, 'step overs' so it could be in a sunny corner and only 1.5m high or less. Black currents are delicious and not a big plant, they can go in with the flowers. I think flower borders need to be no less than 1 metre in width, possibly with wider bits here and there.

You can grow salad veg and herbs in troughs near you seating area.

Have you considered re-painting the shed, perhaps a mid green so that it is not so imposing? Also the fence needs a bit of work doing on it, this should be done before you start planting flower beds, so you have good access to it.

You have a pretty blank canvas to work with and a lovely old looking wall. Keep an eye on that ivy, it can go mad. Monty Don did a programme last night about people's gardens and one of them was in Snowdonia. He showed the guys how to plant little things in tiny gaps in a slate wall. Perhaps you could watch that on iplayer.

What do you want to use the garden for? Do you have toddlers, young footballers? Do you want to grow some veg? Soft fruit? Apples and pears? Do you want to split the space up a bit? A wildlife area? A pond?

Can you give us a photo taken from upstairs, so we can see the whole thing at once?

In the meantime, while you are thinking about these things, have a look at the neighbours gardens, what are they growing successfully? This is important as different soil types support different plants.

You are going to have so much fun sorting out the garden, I'm almost jealous